Shea Says Insitute Retaliated Against Her
By Jeremy Hylton
Editor in Chief
Sharon P. Shea, an accountant in the Office of the Dean for Residence
and Campus Activities, filed harassment and retaliation charges
against MIT with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
on Nov. 2.
In her complaint filed with the MCAD, Shea said she had filed an
internal MIT complaint of sexual harassment in June 1992 against James
R. Tewhey, then associate dean for residence and campus activities.
She also said that J. Paul Kirby '92, a former Undergraduate
Association vice president, filed a harassment complaint against her
on May 6, 1993. Kirby claimed that Shea spread rumors about Tewhey and
himself.
Shea alleges that MIT retaliated against her because of her complaint
against Tewhey and Kirby's complaint. "The retaliatory situation at
work was so unendurable that [it] created severe stress on my welfare.
As of Sept. 10, 1993, I was authorized by my doctor to take a
long-term medical leave," she wrote in her complaint.
In the MCAD complaint, she claimed that she was also denied a
promotion and had her duties limited.
Institute officials have declined to comment on either complaint, but
Provost Mark S. Wrighton said on April 26 that only one complaint was
filed against Tewhey during his tenure at MIT, and that the complaint
was without merit.
MIT conducted an investigation of Kirby's complaint. In a letter to
Kirby dated Aug. 26, Wrighton wrote that Frederick M. Lawrence, an
associate professor of law at Boston University, had conducted an
investigation of Kirby's complaint.
Wrighton decided not to take any formal disciplinary action. "In view
of Professor Lawrence's findings of fact I have decided that as far as
MIT is concerned, no further action is called for in processing your
grievance," Wrighton wrote.
The letter continued, "Nonetheless, although there has been no
violation of MIT policy established, there is in Professor Lawrence's
finding the basis for me to conclude that poor judgment was displayed
by Ms. Shea, such as by her contributing to the spread of
unsubstantiated rumors about you and James Tewhey. I intend to
communicate to Ms. Shea my concerns about her behavior in this
respect."
In her complaint, Shea said, "I was informed that my complaint
[against Tewhey] was found unsubstantiated and that I was relieved of
any and all liability."
Kirby declined to comment on whether he would pursue his complaint
further. "I don't think that anyone could find fault with the quality
of the investigation, since it was conducted by a former federal
prosecutor. But at this point, that's all anyone could say about the
outcome of the grievance," he said.
Tewhey said he had also filed a formal complaint at MIT against Shea
because of rumors she spread about him. Tewhey said his complaint was
not investigated.
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Copyright 1993 by The Tech. All rights reserved.
This story was published on Tuesday, November 30, 1993.
Volume 113, Number 61
The story began on page 1
and jumped to page 15.
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